Orders
by G. Sun
Summary: After the Chaos Emerald incident is a bust with Mizuki, there's one more girl who Don has to find in order to help him. But will the deadpan warrior easily go along with him or will a fight unravel on Angel Island. Read after THE THIEF OF HEARTS RETURNS
1. Chapter 1

**Now let's find out how Risa can deal with this Don situation. I'm sure she'll make up for the lack of maturity on Mizuki's part.**

Whenever I close my eyes, I can see that wicked message painted within the violet flames that burned down that forest. I do not understand why I only saw it, it was very apparent once we got to the top of the hill and got a good vista of the ravenous flames; I wanted to tell Erick about it but it was too chaotic in his office when we returned and Mizuki told me I was seeing things since we were all so exhausted from the battle. _"Darkness is coming for you,"_ I whisper as I stare out to the cloudy horizon while eating a sandwich I purchased after the mission with Mizuki. This is one of the strangest sandwiches I have eaten because it is long and packed with too many stuff and every time I take a bite something falls out. Turkey and cheese are the only ingredients I can recognize because Mizuki added all these other wild toppings. I am glad to have met her, she is a nice and humorous girl who reminds me so much of Clancy. What about him, where is he? For all I know he could be dead from the Heartless-was that what the message was referring to, Heartless? "Was his message intended for me only?" I wonder aloud. "You" can be targeted towards one person or many persons but I was the only one to see it. "Knuckles do you want the rest of this 'foot long'?" I wave the sandwich at him. Sitting at the top of the altar, he looks at it and grimaces. "Is that a no?"

"Why would I want that?" he asks as if he is above the "foot long". I have seen him eat real food other than grapes and he is a sloppy mess with a ravenous appetite.

"So no."

"Wait, what's in it?"

"Some turkey and cheese." He hurries down the steps to better ogle my foot long sandwich. "I only took four bites of it and I am already full, here."

"You're never that generous," comments Knuckles as he inspects the sandwich. He will have a better idea of what Mizuki put in it than I do. After taking a small bite, he makes a pleased humming noise and consumes a much larger portion, spilling some contents on the grass. From behind me dark blue light flashes and when I turn to it a man a shade darker than bronze, a bit lighter than my complexion, appears to have teleported here. I stand up to meet the potential threat but before I can say a word, Knuckles blurts out fighting words, dropping the sandwich wastefully. "Don! What are you doing here?"

"Knuckles I'm not in a pleasant mood," replies the stranger named Don crossly. "Do not trifle with me now. I'm here for her."

"What's Risa to you?" he growls with his clenched fists up. "You're not getting her without a fight. Besides what are you planning?"

"Now is that any of your business? Shouldn't you be watching your precious Master Emerald? I need to talk to her," says Don dismissively. Knuckles shakes his head and takes a step towards him, making me realize the significant height difference between the two. I have never seen this man before, how does he know me? "I told you I am not in a fighting mood-"

"Well too bad, that makes this easier for me," Knuckles says confidently as he springs up to punch the intruder. Don side steps him, moving like the passing breeze. I put my hand to adjust my hood and watch the obviously vexed stranger curiously. Knuckles' huge fist makes a condensed crater in the ground. I have watched this exchange long enough and I am curious to know what this older man would want with me. "What do you want?" I ask him curiously.

"Don't let him fool you! Trust me he's not one of the good guys," Knuckles shouts out in protest.

"What I want with you involves Chaos Emeralds," he says angrily as if he has a grudge against me. "You're going to find one of them for me whether you like it or not."

"No way!" Knuckles takes his fist from the crater and points it at Don threateningly. "She's not helping you with whatever you and Egglady are planning to do." Don narrows his eyes at me, waiting for a reply. Something tells me he was angered by something else prior to arriving here. Nonetheless, I have dealt with people who like to remain comfortable in their vexation and staying calm either works or upsets them further. Father would become furious at my nonchalance but Don is not my father. Thing are going to get sloppy the longer I let this go on. "How would I do that?" I disregard Knuckles' opposition. "Find one."

"I'm in no mood for explanations."

"I can see that. I will try it on my own then."

"No don't do it!" objects Knuckles as he moves closer to me. I block out his shouts and Don's fuming presence to rack through my mind of an image of Chaos Emerald. I have never seen one but I am sure it is related to the Master Emerald. Master Emerald, grant me the power to locate a Chaos Emerald otherwise this island will erupt in chaos. Slowly the boys' voices fade into nothingness as I try to keep my mental focus on the Master Emerald. When I first came to this island Knuckles told me that the Master Emerald "chose me"-that means I can hear it right? _Guardian, Daughter of All, I grant you your wish. _Everyone's voices instantly flows back and the sense of something far from here awakens in the back of my mind. "I know where to go," I declare, interrupting their argument about nothing while rubbing my tingling shoulder. Men are all the same as humans and animals. "Let us go now."

"Good," he straightens his posture. I turn to a flustered, beet red Knuckles. "I can handle myself."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes. I will see you this evening probably."

' ' '

When I track down the spot to where the Chaos Emerald should be, Don asks, "here?"

"That is why we are here."

"There is portal here, go through it." Willingly, I obey and phase through the invisible portal. Do people ever fall into these and get trapped in these worlds forever? A curious thought but not for right now, this mysterious stranger is what I am intrigued about. How could he know where I am and who I am without me knowing? Should I be as worried as Knuckles said? When I stumble upon landing on the fresh-smelling pasture, I scratch my burning tattoo, hurting from Knuckles' order. Don emerges from the portal, still cross over what happened on Angel Island but he knows how Knuckles is-he expected that opposition from him when he came looking for me, that is my theory anyway.

"I do not have the feeling anymore," I admit honestly. He glances up at me after having his head down and exhales sharply. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes," he answers, his tone softer than before.

"Now what?"

"I take over. Follow me." As he starts walking down the flowery field and me following suit, he quickly glances at me, then up to the setting sky over us, and then at me once more. "Is there a reason you keep looking at me?" I ask, feeling slightly insecure. Can he see under my hood?

"You don't seem afraid," he replies leniently but with his deep, developed voice he sounds upset still. "Or maybe you're just good at hiding it."

"What is there to be afraid of, will you kill me after finding your Chaos Emerald?"

"If you don't comply."

"Then I have nothing to worry about do I? Besides even if you try something, _I can take you_." That honest statement makes him snort, breaking the deep-rooted anger he had before. Although I am looking straight ahead, I can feel him frowning but not because he takes my threat seriously but because I am so sure of myself. I know I am giving myself a big head but I did not lie when I told Knuckles I can handle myself. Especially after defeating Deidra, I know for sure my abilities will not let me down. But then I remember the words in the flames, _darkness is coming for you, _and my spirits dampen.

J.G.P.


	2. Chapter 2

Going from the back-talking, obnoxious girl named Mizuki to this hooded, quiet girl named Risa is so pleasing, but I'm not going to show her that. For her age she seems to be oddly obedient and mature, two things I weren't when I was her age. We reach to the bottom of the grassy knoll and enter the darkening forest close by. There's no civilization out here so there shouldn't be any problems concerning people, it's the Heartless that I have to worry about. Why are there so many of them in different worlds? Luke and I fought many of them but more come in drones, what the hell are they? "Why are we in some scary dark forest?" that annoying Mizuki is still in my head, making it difficult for me to forget about her. She would ask some irrelevant question like that when she should keep her mouth shut. "Be quiet already," I snap back at her.

"I have not uttered a word," the girl Risa replies flatly, keeping up with my lowered running speed. "You must be hearing things." Her tone stays flat and dull and I can't rely on her facial expressions because their hidden in her hood's shadow. I wonder if she fears anything-she came with me without opposition and is sure of herself, too sure of herself. It's like looking into a mirror whose reflection I can't see-we will get along just fine. "You are intrigued by me are you not?"

I slow down when I see a tattered sign that reads: _Enter this cursed place at your own peril._ "I'm not answering that," I answer stolidly, moving right along. If I had met this girl before Mia and Mizuki, she would be the ideal person to have with me when getting Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles is the only thing I can't deal with unless I actually fight him and shut him up for good but that will result in fighting her too. Seeing something brown in the distance, I stop and crouch behind a tree. Risa does the same by a tree next to mine. "The Chaos Emerald is in there I presume," she says in a hushed tone. "Am I right?"

"Wait here," I get up and skulk towards the house but catch a glint of something shiny in the corner of my eyes. Two skeletons are piled on top of each other, with a wooden axe right by them. Snapping tree branches from over my head stops me and another skeleton drops from the broken tree branch; I smash it with my kick, decorating the flowers on the ground with bones. I turn to Risa and only see a piece of her blue kimono in the same place it was at before. She listens to commands perfectly-she makes this job so much easier. I get to the door of the cabin and then peer through the window. Inside, a purple light envelops the entire room-the light of a Chaos Emerald no doubt. Professor will already be upset with me for letting that Chaos Emerald get destroyed by Mizuki. The only reason I let her go is because I could see she didn't have any bad intentions and I didn't want to hear her whiny voice ever again. Nonetheless, I'm confident I won't fail this time-I refuse to let myself down again. The cabin door creaks open; I spring back, standing directly at the person at the doorway. It's hard to see who it is in dusk's dwindling light but when she speaks, I relax a little bit.

"Hello there sir, what can I help you with?" she sounds like she's in her late eighties. Out here in the wilderness and skeletons everywhere, it's a miracle that she lived that long here. "I never have visitors."

"The gem in your house belongs to me," I get straight to the point, even gesturing to it. "I need you to turn around and hand it over."

"Yours? Why I found it over a week ago-there is no power out here and that pretty jewel has been a very good source of light for me. You can't take it from me," she replies innocently. "Oooh, my arthritis is acting up again." She bends forward, not a good posture for someone with back arthritis. Old women, old men, children, whatever gets in my way is going down, I have a mission to do. I check on Risa behind me and she's still back there waiting for me like a trained dog, I'm impressed with her.

"Lady there's nothing you can do with that-"

"My name is not Lady, it's Lucia. I'm not that deaf sir."

"If you won't give me the Chaos Emerald then I'm coming in and taking it."

* * *

He is so focused on his goal. I would not have pushed that old woman the way he did; I cannot see either of them but I heard someone fall on the forest ground and Don entering the log cabin with heavy footsteps. "Please, help me. I can die down here."

"You should have listened when I asked you," he says coldly. The old woman moans in heart-wrenching agony. I am not surprised, Don comes off as the selfish and ruthless type of man, almost like my father. Is that why I am abiding by every command without lashing out, because he reminds me of the man I spent years loathing? "You there, behind the tree." I am surprised the old woman can see me when I am so far away with her old eyes. "Come over here and help me please if you have a heart." Reluctantly, I get up and hurry to the side of the fallen elder. The violet glow from the Chaos Emerald gives me some light that lets me see her face. She looks very familiar to me, I recognize her dark, squinty eyes. "Oh it's you-from that time when you helped out my relatives."

"Where you the one who told me to seek the Goddess' Temple?"

"Yes, yes, mmmrgh," she groans as I pull her gently to her feet. "You can't let him rob me like this." I close my eyes and sigh, sensing Don waiting for how I'll respond to that. Unfortunately for this woman, I am here for Don and already have a set mission. "I am sorry wise elder, I came with him and must side with him," I whisper reluctantly, my tattoo tingling. The wise elder swoons and croaks in pain as she straightens her cracking back out. I feel terribly guilty for letting Don do this but what choice do I have?

"No, no, please. I'll be in the cold dark all by myself," she begs as I worm out of her grasp. I look toward Don, standing in the doorway watching me like a hawk.

"You got your Chaos Emerald."

"Don't worry I'll bring you back to your precious Angel Island without harm, just come here. I'm bringing us back to Westopolis." When I start to walk towards him, the wise elder manages to yell at me fervently, stopping me. "You stop now. I know the secret on your arm that you're covering up," she warns, losing the weakness in her voice. "If you won't bring it back to me, I'll make you regret it." No, she cannot be talking about that. Anything but my curse-I must hurry to Don. But I am too slow, the hoary elder already issues the command I dread, "Now kill him."

"She has a mind of her own, you foolish hag," comments Don rudely. But he is so wrong-dead wrong. My arm tingles and despite how much I am resisting, I lunge at Don with my left fist closed, ready to punch his hairy face. Don dodges it quickly by pushing my hand and side step me, staring at me with a befuddled look. "What're you doing?"

"Just move," I attempt to front flip in the air and drop my heel on the top of his cranium. With his free hand, he defends himself but slightly wincing at how hard the kick was. Pushing up from the ground to back flip back and land, I vertically punch his chest but he snatches my wrist and throws me effortlessly into a sturdy rooted tree. Tied and bound by the command, I run back at him, carrying the pain on my back. He sends a kick at my face but I hastily duck and jump kick him in the side, which really infuriates him. "Someone tells you to kill me you go ahead and do it?" he inquires while gripping my leg.

"It is not-"

"Yes!" the elder answers for me and when I look at the corner of my eye her appearance has drastically changed. Her skin blends in with the late dusk's darkness but she has a yellow eye on her forehead and that is all I can see in this awkward position. "Show him your arm girl, show him your curse." My right hand shakes fervently as it moves toward my left arm sleeve. No Risa, do not show him, you cannot show him. "No," I whisper when my hand clutches my sleeve. It is supposed to be my secret, _my_ secret alone. But there is nothing I can do, nothing I can say to preserve my secret. "Nooo-"

I yank the sleeve up alleviating some of my pain. The tattoo is glaring green, brought to life from the sound of a command. I grimace at the circles infinitely looping and feel them sending the pain coiling around both my arms. This is nothing compared to when Sia removed me from Mother's domain and the circles were all over my body. "She is bound to be obedient by any command given to her. And if she refuses, the child will succumb to agony until she dies. Now use the Keyblade to finish him off!"

"How do you know about-nooo!" Don lets me go as the broken Keyblade appears in a flash of light in my hand. "Don avoid me as much as you can!" My arm comes down on him but I stop it just in time, giving him a chance to sidekick me in the chest. As I fly backwards, I regain my footing quickly with a back flip and come at him again. Risa you cannot allow yourself to do this, you must resist as best as you can. I drop the sword and squeeze the throbbing tattoo sending pain shooting everywhere throughout my body. Don steps on the broken blade and has an indifferent expression, sliding it to the side. "Get in contr-"

"Kill him, kill him!" chants the talking, human-sized Heartless. The Keyblade returns back to me and I weakly brandish it at him. When I attempt to jab him in the chest, he bends over backwards and kicks the blade upward to help me let it go. If I really wanted to kill him, I would not have let that happen but I cannot afford to keep this up. Soon one of us will get hurt.

* * *

When I expect her to charge again, she stops abruptly. Her occult sword reappears in her hand again and I no longer hear pained groans from her. With such agility, she turns towards the Heartless and throws the blade at it; it gets stuck in right in her Heartless eye and she howls like a dying creature and then Risa comes running back to me and yells under strain, "we have to go now." With her hand trembling as she reaches for my throat, she forces herself to grab my shoulder.

"Chaos Control!" the demonic shrieking is over and is replaced with the sounds of the waves. We look around, getting the image of the beach below Angel Island settled into our minds. Remembering what happened with Mizuki, I observe the Chaos Emerald and see it's alright. Looking back at Risa, who has already let go, her sword back in her hand. What kind of magic is that? A sword that always returns to its owner, the perfect weapon. She makes it disappear and with folded arms, she starts to walk away in the opposite direction. A drop of rain touches my forehead as I say, "Wait-" as expected she stops "-you didn't kill me."

"Please keep my secret. Please do not let anyone know about this," she turns to me with her head to the ground, embarrassed. "Do not hold it against me."

"How did this happen?" normally I wouldn't care about things like this but I could have been put to sleep today. How has she lived thirteen years without free will? No wonder she obeyed my orders like a perfect soldier.

"I owe you that. My father wanted me to be the perfect daughter-he took me to a temple and gave me this tattoo that makes me obedient to any command. Whenever I resist, it hurts me severely," explains Risa sadly. "You have every reason to hate me, you can end my life now if you want to."

I look towards the ocean, feeling more raindrops plop on my forehead. "I can't hold you accountable for something out of your control. And I'm not going to do anything to you because-you resisted. I have no business killing someone who means me no real harm-speaking of which, how did you stop yourself?"

* * *

"I promised myself-that in the future I would kill you," I reply earnestly. "I am sorry."

"Don't b-it's fine. I do hope that we meet again." The light drizzle stops, leaving the atmosphere clear of moisture. "I'll keep your secret."

"Thank you," I bow respectfully and turn away from him. As I hear his footsteps in the sand grow fainter, the letters in the fire burn in my head. _Darkness is coming for you, Darkness is coming for you._

**And that's a wrap.**


End file.
